Avatar: Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope
by Dennis Fielder
Summary: The original Star Wars film, Avatar style. Sokka is 3PO Toph is R2 Katara is Leia Ozai is Vader Zuko is Luke Iroh as Obi-Wan Appa as Chewbacca Aang as Han
1. Prologue

A long time ago,

in a galaxy far, far away.

AVATAR STAR WARS

EPISODE IV

A NEW HOPE

IT IS A TIME OF FEAR IN THE GALAXY. THE EMPIRE HAS JUST FINISHED CONSTRUCTION OF ITS MOST DANGEROUS WEAPON, THE DEATH STAR.

IN A DARRING RAID, REBEL SPIES ARE ABLE TO STEAL PLANS FOR THE DEATH STAR AND BEFORE BEING DESTROYED, SEND IT TO KATARA ORGANA, THE DAUGHTER OF VICEROY HAKODA ORGANA OF ALDERAAN, AND ALDERAAN'S SENATOR IN THE IMPERIAL SENATE.

AS SHE FLEES TO TATOOINE, SHE'S FOLLOWED BY THE DARK LORD OF THE SITH, DARTH OZAI...


	2. Chapter 1

As Katara's ship, the rebel blockade runner called _Tantive IV_, fled Ozai's Star Destroyer, which is firing on the _Tantive IV_, the protocol droid, S-3PO, and the astro droid, R2-T2 listened anxiously. R2 took a quick glance at 3PO to see how he was doing. She caught a dim reflection of herself in 3PO's gold plated body. She looked the same as always, the size of a human child, with a head, arms, and legs to match. Her cylinder shaped body looked quite unimpressive, though she knew that it held many utilities, the most useful of these being an omni tool that could hack into any computer and control the entire workings of the immediate area. She also noticed that 3PO was getting nervous. He was rubbing his gold plated hands together, and rubbing his gold plated left leg with his silver plated right leg. His entire gold plated body was shaking. All of a sudden, there was a large lurch.

"They've hit the foreword stabilizers!" 3PO said hysterically. "We can't escape! We're doomed! Doomed I say!"

"Get a grip 3PO." R2 responded calmly.

Elsewhere, the rebel troops guarding the entrance to the _Tantive IV_ were attacked by the Storm Troopers, All most of the rebels could see was a barrage of black and white armor, most notably the skull shaped face masks of the Emperor's faceless soldiers.

Meanwhile, as the Storm Troopers invaded the ship, R2 went to Princess Katara. Her braided hair was as well cared for as ever, but there was a look of fear in her eyes, and also she had put the hood of her simple white dress up to avoid being recognized before she recorded the message she asked R2 to send.

"Help me Iroh Kenobi." Pleaded the princess. "You're my only hope." She quickly became inquisitive as she was unfamiliar with R2's holo-mail program. "Okay, now which button do I push to send the message?"

"You know what?" R2 said, laughing nervously. "I forgot which button it was. I better send it myself."

Eventually, the Imperials came in through. Darth Ozai followed intimidating his own troops. His face mask hid all of his face, so that they couldn't even guess what Ozai was. All they could tell was that he had a beard from the rectangular obelisk that stuck out of the part of his mask that covered his chin. The back of his head was also covered by a round helmet. He was dressed in a completely black with gloves and boots. He also wore a chest piece that curved up at the shoulders. Attached to that was a flowing black cape that appeared to be fastened under the chest piece. Lord Ozai kicked a rebel's corpse.

"A little sloppy gentlemen." Lord Ozai said in a calm, intimidating voice.

R2 was being followed by 3PO on her way to the escape pods.

"Where are you going R2?" 3PO asked.

"None of your beeswax!" R2 responded agitatedly.

"Well, you can't just leave me here!" 3PO whined.

"Oh, alright!" R2 said. "Get in here." As they went into one of the escape pods, R2 scanned the interior control panel. "Now which button is it?"

Darth Ozai was choking a rebel soldier. Based on his uniform, he was the captain of the ship. After a minute or two, a Storm Trooper came up to him.

"The Death Star plans are not in the main reactor." The trooper reported.

"Where are those transmissions you intercepted?" Ozai said, turning to the captain. "What have you done with those plans?!"

"This is a consular ship." The rebel gasped as Ozai tightened his grip. "We were on a diplomatic mission."

"If this is a consular's ship, where is the ambassador?!" Ozai said as he cracked the rebel's neck. He then threw the new corpse down, anger boiling in what was left of his blood. "Commander, tare this ship apart until you've found those plans, and bring me the passengers; I want them alive!!"

Katara was running to the escape pods. If she was lucky, she would make it to the pods and make it to Tatooine to talk to General Kenobi herself. Unfortunately, she appeared to have used up her luck when R2 made it out.

"Stun her!" The commander yelled.

They fired their blasters at her, and she fell motionless onto the ground.

3PO waited nervously as R2 used her omni tool, to launch the pod they were in. Eventually, they were launched out of the ship.

"Are you sure you know where we're supposed to go?" 3PO said in a matter of fact way.

"Not really." Toph responded in the same way. "All I know is that it's somewhere on the planet below."

"Oh." Sokka finished.

On Lord Ozai's Star Destroyer, two imperials were scanning the area.

"An escape pod's been jettisoned." One of the imperials responded to his superior. "Should we shoot it down?"

"No leave it." The captain replied. "There aren't any life signs, probably a malfunction."

As Darth Ozai contemplated his next move, Princess Katara was brought before him.

"Lord Ozai." Katara said testily. "The Imperial Senate won't stand for this!"

"Don't play games with me, Your Highness." Ozai responded coolly. "You weren't on any mercy missions this time."

"I don't know what you're talking about," the princess responded. "I'm a member of the Imperial Senate and-"

"You are part of the Rebel Alliance, and a traitor." Ozai responded, losing his patience. "Take her away!!"

Ozai was fuming. How dare a girl tried to defy him. Not only was he second only to the Emperor, but Katara was merely a senator! She could hardly be more than 19! Hadn't _he _fought and won some of the most important battles of the Clone Wars?! Hadn't _he _ended the war?! Hadn't _he _bested some of the best of the Jedi?! Hadn't _he _fought Iroh Kenobi to a standstill?! Then, the less arrogant side of himself that had remained, even after his duel with Iroh spoke out.

_Hadn't _you _killed…? _No! He wouldn't think about that! He could not dwell on regret if he wanted to survive this life. There was no time to mourn Ozai Skywalker or his wife. There would never be.

On Tattooine, 3PO and R2 walked away from their crashed pod.

"This is just great!" 3PO complained. "My joints are freezing!"

"How could you be freezing?" R2 said, half-joking and half-aggravated. "It's 90 degrees out here."

"The sands gotten stuck in my joints!" 3PO whined.

R2 began to go one way as 3PO began to go the other way.

"Hey, what are you doing?" 3PO asked bossily.

"I'm looking for a town." R2 responded, getting more agitated by the second.

"I'm telling you, the closest town is that way." 3PO said pointing in the direction he was going.

"Oh, forget you, man!" R2 said. She'd had enough.

"Hey, what am I supposed to do?" 3PO whined.

"You can bite my shinny metal butt." R2 said.

"Fine!" 3PO said. "Go that way! You'll be malfunctioning in a day."

3PO was in the middle of nowhere.

"Oh, what did I do to deserve this?!" 3PO said. He was overheating, he had missed the holo-news, and he'd never gone so long without making a joke. "Hey, what's that?" A short way off, there was some kind of vehicle. "A transport. I'm saved! Hey, over here!! I need help!!"

R2 was in a rocky canyon.

"Oh, man. I'm in a bad neighborhood." R2 had seen many things. In fact she was lucky she didn't get a memory wipe in the 32 years she'd been active. All of a sudden, she heard a small noise. "What was that? What? A droid can't walk around by herself no more?!"

All of a sudden, a jawa came up and stunned R2. She let out a mechanical scream.

On the inside of the jawas' sandcrawler, R2 ran into 3PO.

"Don't you say a word." 3PO said sulking.

A little way off on a moisture farm, a young boy named Zuko Skywalker was standing on the surface. He was thinking about his life when he sees the sandcrawler.

"Uncle Owen! Aunt Beru!" Zuko called. "Jawas are coming!"


	3. Chapter 2

As the jawas' sandcrawler came to the Lars' moisture farm. Uncle Owen came up, followed by Zuko. As he often did when he was about to meet someone at home, even jawas, he looked down at his clothes. The same dirty white outfit he'd worn for years. He also put his face on the scar he received when the navy computer of his T-16 exploded during a race when he was 16. He'd spent weeks in recovery, though the scar wasn't healed since his aunt and uncle couldn't afford it.  
"Zuko!" Aunt Beru called from the homestead. Zuko quickly jogged back to the opening where the main part of the homestead was. "Tell your uncle that if he finds a translator, make sure he speaks Botchi!"  
"It doesn't look like we have much of a choice," Zuko called back, "but I'll remind him."

The apparent owner of the homestead went to 3PO.  
"I suppose you're programmed for etiquette and protocol?" The homestead owner asked.  
"Protocol?" 3PO said eagerly, he wasn't about to get stuck on the sandcrawler again. "Why it's my primary function!"  
"What I really need is a droid who understands moisture vaporators." The homestead owner said.  
"Why sir," 3PO quickly responded, "my first job was programming moisture vaporators very similar to yours!" Inside, 3PO grimaced. He had absolutely no idea what his first job actually was, as he'd received a memory wipe 19 years ago, and he was sure he had been active long before that.  
"Can you speak Botchi?" The homestead owner asked.  
"Of course I can sir!" 3PO responded joyfully. In fact the only language he didn't know was Tusken Raider. "It's like a second language to me!"  
"Alright, shut up." The homestead owner replied. "We'll take this one, and that one over there."  
He pointed at a droid next to R2. 3PO and the other droid went what appeared to be either his new owner's son, or else his nephew. All of a sudden, the other droid's motivator blew.  
"Uncle Owen!" The owner's nephew called out. "This R2 unit's got a bad motivator!"  
"Hey, what are you trying to pull on me?" Owen asked the jawas.  
"Excuse me sir," 3PO said, "but that R2 unit is in tip-top shape, a little dusty, but in tip-top shape."  
"Uncle Owen," Owen's nephew asked, "how about that blue one?"  
"What about the little blue one?"  
The jawas gave R2 to Owen.  
"Zuko, take these droids to the garage and clean them." Owen told Zuko.  
"But I was going to go to Tashi Station to pick up some power convertors." Zuko argued.  
"You can waist time with your friends later." Owen told Zuko sternly.  
"Yes sir." Zuko said with a sigh.

In the garage, the protocol droid was being lowered into an oil tank.

"Oh, man this oil bath is going to feel so good." The protocol droid responded. "I've got such a bad case of dust contamination, I can barely move."

"Biggs is right I'm never going to get out of here!" Zuko said, more to himself than to anyone else. He then turned to the droids. "So what are your names?"

"I'm S-3PO, human-cyborg relations," 3PO responded, "and this is my counterpart R2-T2."

"Hello." Zuko said as he cleaned R2's body.

"Hey." R2 answered.

"I'm Zuko Skywalker." Zuko said. "Nice to meet you. So, do you guys have any stories?"

"Not really," 3PO began. "R2 and I haven't seen much, but our last owner was Raymus Antilles, a leader in the Alliance-"

"You were part of the rebellion against the Empire?" Zuko asked excitedly.

"That's how we ended up here." 3PO answered.

"Well," Zuko said, "however you ended up here; this little guy's got something jammed in..."

He forced out the sand that was jammed into R2, also triggering some kind of message.

"Ow!" R2 exclaimed.

The hologram of a 19 year old woman appeared just in front of Zuko.

"Help me Iroh Kenobi." The hologram pleaded. "You're my only hope." After a short pause, the message repeated itself. "Help me Iroh Kenobi. You're my only hope."  
"She's beautiful." Zuko said. She had very tanned skin, obviously from Alderaan. She had piercing blue eyes, and dark brown hair that was only two shades lighter than Zuko's. "Who is she?"

"A passenger on our last voyage." 3PO said after a few seconds. "I think it was someone important."

"Where's the rest of the message?" Zuko asked.

"The restraining bolt's interfering with my memory bank." R2 said.

Zuko took off the restraining bolt. Immediately afterwards, the hologram vanished.

"Hey, play back the rest of the message!" Zuko ordered.

"What message?" R2 asked, playing dumb.

"'What message?'" 3PO repeated in an agitated voice. "The one you were playing a few minutes ago! It's okay we can trust Luke, he's our new owner."

"I belong to Iroh Kenobi." R2 said stubbornly. "He's supposed to live somewhere around here."

"Who?" 3PO asked.

"Oh, let it go 3PO." Zuko said exasperated. Then he sat down and became very thoughtful. _Kenobi. _Zuko though, he thought it sounded familiar. "Iroh Kenobi. I wonder if she means old Lu Ten Kenobi."  
"Who?" 3PO asked again.

"Well I never met someone named Iroh, but Lu Ten lives in a hut on the other side of the Dune Sea." Zuko said. He had met Lu Ten once before when he was 13.

"Zuko!" Aunt Beru called from the kitchen. "It's time for dinner!"

"Coming!" Zuko called back. "I'll see you guys after dinner."

As Zuko went into the dining room, he couldn't help thinking, as he always did after a hard day, about his father. Who was he? All he knew was that Ozai Skywalker had been a pilot on a spice freighter, and that his mother had married Uncle Owen's father. He knew absolutely nothing about his mother. _Who was she?_ He caught himself thinking for the zillionth time. Zuko had lived with his aunt and uncle for 19 years. His uncle had never permitted him to ask any questions about his father, besides the first question he had asked about his father, and a back door he tried by asking about his grandparents. He didn't blame them, it was probably hard to lose even a step-brother.

"You know, I think those droids were stolen." Zuko said as he entered the dining room. "The R2 unit says that she belongs to an Iroh Kenobi. I thought he might be a relation to Lu Ten's."

"Lu Ten's just a crazy old man." Uncle Owen said. "Besides, I don't think Iroh Kenobi exists anymore. He died around the same time as your father."

"He knew my father?" Zuko asked excitedly.

"I said forget it." Uncle Owen said. As Zuko slumped back down he thought of how stupid he was hadn't he just been thinking about how Uncle Owen never answered questions about his father? "Tomorrow morning, I want you to take the droids to Anchorhead and have their memories erased." Uncle Owen continued. "They belong to us now."

"While we're on the subject," Zuko said, as another idea came into his head. "I was wondering if, with the new droids, I could send in my application to the academy this year."

"Zuko, harvest time is when I need you the most." Uncle Owen said. "Next season, I'll be able to hire some hands, and then you'll be able to send in your application."

"Yeah, that's what you said when Biggs and Tank left." Zuko said. Uncle Owen had made the same promise every day since he was 17, and every time, he'd broken it. Zuko stood up to leave.

"Where are you going?" Aunt Beru asked.

"Looks like I'm going nowhere, again." Zuko said. He knew he shouldn't blame Aunt Beru, she was a bit more open to Zuko knowing, at least some of, his past. "I'm going to go check on the droids." Zuko left.

"Owen he can't stay here forever." Beru said after Zuko left. "Most of his friends have gone."

"I'll make it up to him next year." Owen said, and he ment it. He just didn't want Zuko to repeat Ozai's mistakes, or go looking for that meddling Kenobi. "I promise."

"Luke's just not a farmer Owen." Beru said smiling. "He's got too much of his father in him."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Owen muttered as he thought of a day 22 years ago, when Ozai brought his mother's body back.

As Zuko came in, and turned on the light, he angrily thought of the fact that he'd probably be stuck on this dust ball forever. He had a funny feeling his father had felt the same way. He shook his head and decided to finish cleaning R2 and 3PO.

"Guys?" Zuko called out.

"I tried to stop her," 3PO cried out running to Zuko, "but she heard your uncles plan to give us a memory wipe, and she left!"

"What?" Zuko said. If his uncle found out he'd lost the droid, he'd be in big trouble.  
"She left!!" 3PO screamed out.

"Shh!" Zuko quickly covered 3PO's mouth. "Calm down. We'll have to look for her tomorrow. It's too dangerous right now. There are Sandbenders and all manner of things out there."

Zuko sighed. On the bright side, he could use this to at least see Lu Ten again, maybe he knew his father too. He shook his head. This wasn't the time to think about that. He'd probably take R2 away, which would mean he'd be in huge trouble with Uncle Owen.

In the Death Star's council room, a group of Imperial officers were sitting around a table with one seat absent for Grand Moff Zhao.

"Kidnapping the princess could have serious repercussions on us!" Shinu insisted. "The Rebellion is more dangerous than you realize."

"The Rebels are nothing more than a small nuisance." Qin countered, he was second only to Tarkin in his staunch support of the Death Star.

"The Rebels will continue to gain support in the Imperial Senate-" Shinu retorted angrily when Zhao and Darth Ozai walked in.

"The Imperial Senate is no longer a factor in our thinking." Zhao said.

"What do you mean?" Shinu asked. Under his mask, Ozai frowned at Shinu's stupidity.

"I've just received word that the Emperor has disbanded the Senate." Zhao continued. "The last remnant of the Old Republic has been swept away." Ozai wasn't sure how he felt about that personally. On the one hand, things could be done much faster, but on the other…

"But that's impossible." Shinu said. "How can the Emperor maintain control without the bureaucracy?" Ozai looked at Shinu, he knew Zhao's answer was what he didn't like about this decree.

"The Regional Governors now have direct control of their systems." Zhao said, and Ozai could swear he saw a small smile cross his face. "Fear will keep the systems in line; fear of this battle station."

"What about that fear?" Shinu countered. "If the Rebels have a technical read out it is possible, however unlikely, that they may find a weakness and exploit it."

"Any attack on this station would be a useless gesture!" Qin said. Ozai couldn't help but frown at his over confidence. "This station is now the ultimate power in the universe!"

"Don't be too proud of this terror you've constructed." Ozai said calmly. "The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force."

"Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerer's way Lord Ozai." Qin ordered. No one besides the Emperor ordered _him_ around. "Your sad devotion to that ancient religion hasn't given you the foresight to find the missing data tapes, nor has it..."

Qin began gasping for breath as Ozai used the Force to constrict his wind pipe.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing." Ozai said, smiling slightly under his mask.

"Enough of this!" Zhao ordered. Luckily for him, the Emperor told Ozai to obey Zhao while he was on the Death Star. "Vader, release him!"

"As you wish." Ozai said as he released Qin.

"Now, Lord Vader will find the missing data, and the Rebel's secret base." Zhao stated. "No arguments."


	4. Chapter 3

The morning after R2 disappeared. Zuko came down the stairs. After thinking long and hard, he decided to look for the droid and just pretend to have her memory wiped, just in case Lu Ten ever came by.

"I'm going to take those droids to Anchorhead now." Zuko called out as he left the homestead.

"Alright." Uncle Owen responded.

"Be careful." Aunt Beru called out.

Zuko and 3PO traveled around the Judland Wastes in Zuko's speeder. Eventually, they caught up with R2.

"R2!" 3PO said, half-aggravated, half-relieved. "What are you doing here?!"

"Bee-boo-ree-doo-bop!" R2 responded. Zuko was surprised she responded that way. He guessed she wanted to keep the conversation private from him.

"She says that she can detect life forms nearby." 3PO translated.

"You forgot the 'Bee-boo' part." Toph responded.

"Oh, yeah." Sokka realized. "She said, 'I'm looking for Iroh Kenobi, you idiot.'" After a moment, he realized what he had just translated. "Wait a minute!"

"Settle this later!" Zuko called out angrily. "We have to check out the life forms R2 detected."

At a nearby cliff. Zuko used his electrobinoculars to take a look around the area.

"Okay, there are two Banthas, but only one Sandbender." Zuko said. He wondered where the other Sandbender was.

All of a sudden, Zuko was attacked by a Sandbender. He took a close look at the dull grey wrappings that covered his body, and the goggles and breath filter that concealed his face.

As Zuko was knocked unconscious, the Sandbender went in for the kill when he heard a shrill and ravenous cry. As the Tusken and his friends left, the cry was shown to come from a hooded figure. The figure comes up to Zuko, and put his hand to Zuko's forehead to make sure he was alright. R2 wondered who the odd figure was. From her the energy sensors on her feet, she could tell he was a human, and the robe seemed familiar.

"Who the heck are you?" R2 asked. She wasn't about to take risks.

The figure pulled down his hood to reveal an old man with a grey beard, and his long hair was tied in a top knot. Something in his face caused something in R2's memory circuits to click. _No, _Toph thought. _He can't be, but he'd only be 57._

"Hello there." The old man said.

"What do you want?" R2 asked.

"Come here my little friend." The old man said. The way he was talking was just too familiar, was he…? "Don't be afraid."

"What about Luke?" R2 asked. She didn't really count Zuko as her master, but she did count him as a friend.

"Oh, don't worry." The old man said. "He'll be alright."

He was right. Zuko opened his eyes a few seconds later.

"You know, the Judland Wastes are not to be travelled lightly." The old man told Zuko.

"Lu Ten?" Zuko asked. "Lu Ten Kenobi?"

"Yes." Lu Ten said, R2 couldn't help but wonder if Lu Ten really was Iroh. At the very least, she could get to Iroh Kenobi from Lu Ten. "Tell me Luke." Lu Ten continued. "What brought you here?"

"This little droid." Zuko said pointing in R2's direction. R2 giggled nervously. "I think she's looking for her former master." Zuko continued. "She claims to belong to an Iroh Kenobi. Is he related to you?"

A look of nostalgia and surprise crossed over Lu Ten's face.

"Iroh Kenobi." Lu Ten said, looking thoughtful. "Iroh. Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time."

"So you know him?" Zuko asked.

"Of course I know him." Lu Ten said. "He's me." R2's electronic mind reeled. "I haven't gone by Iroh since before you were born."

"Then I guess the droid does belong to you." Zuko said.

"I don't seem to remember owning a droid." Iroh said. "Either way, we better get to my house. The Sandbenders are easily startled, but they'll soon be back. And in greater numbers."

"Hey, where's 3PO?" R2 asked. She had completely forgotten about him in the excitement.

"3PO!" Zuko said, he had obviously been thinking the same thing.

When they found him, his right arm had been torn off by the shoulder.

"Don't worry about me guys." 3PO cried out dramatically. "I'll only slow you down."

"I'm not leaving a friend behind." Zuko said.

While Iroh helped Zuko pick 3PO up and take him to the land speeder. R2 carried 3PO's right arm.

On the outskirts of Tatooine. A group of Sand Troopers were scanning the area on orders from Lord Ozai. One of the Sand Troopers looked at his reflection. He looked at the suit and wondered if he could put in a recommendation to change the armor a little. The Pauldron was alright, but the fact that they had the same armor as normal Storm Troopers got on his nerves a little.

"Have you found anything?" The commander asked.

"Nothing yet." A friend of his responded.

Another trooper picked up a droid's gears.

"Look sir," the trooper said, "droids."

The trooper closest to him picked up a copper piece.

"Look a copper piece!" He said excitedly.

At Iroh's hut, Zuko had welded 3PO's arm back on so that Iroh couldn't even tell that it was broken if he hadn't seen it welded it back on.

"No," Zuko said chuckling, "my father didn't fight in the wars. He was a spice freighter pilot."

"That's what your uncle told you." Iroh said. He smiled at the fact that the son of Ozai Skywalker knew so little about his father's past. "He didn't hone with your father's ideals; he thought he shouldn't have gotten involved and stayed here to help out."

"You fought in the Clone Wars?" Zuko asked in an awed voice.

"Yes." Iroh said chuckling. "I was once a Jedi Knight the same as your father. Which reminds me, I have something for you. Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough, but your uncle wouldn't allow it. He thought you'd join old Obi-Wan on some damn fool crusade like your father did." Saying this, he went to a trunk and brought out something he had kept for the past 19 years. Ever since…

"What is it?" Zuko asked.

"Your father's Lightsaber." Iroh answered handing the ancient weapon. "This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster." As he went on, Zuko turned on the familiar blue blade and swung it around a few times. "An elegant weapon, for a more civilized age. For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the Dark Times. Before the Empire."

Zuko turned off the Lightsaber and turned to Iroh.

"How did my father die?" Zuko asked. Iroh knew it was coming. He could practically hear the question the first time they met, and he wasn't even going to ask him back then.

"A young Jedi named Darth Ozai," Iroh said, after thinking for a moment, "who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights. He betrayed and murdered your father. Ozai was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force."

"The Force?" Luke asked.

"The Force is what gives a Jedi his power." Iroh explained, glad he could change the subject. "It's an energy field. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together." Iroh then walked over to R2. Now, let's find out who you are my little friend, and where you come from.

As he taped R2's head, a hologram appeared.

"I saw part of the message, but I couldn't get him to play the rest." Zuko said.

"I seem to have found it." Iroh saw the hologram of a 19 year old woman in a simple white dress, with the tan skin of someone from Alderaan. _Katara!_ Iroh thought.

"General Kenobi." The hologram of Katara began. "Years ago, you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you to help him. Imperial forces have invaded my ship, and I fear my mission to bring you to Alderaan has failed. I've placed information vital to the survival of the Alliance in the memory circuits of this R2 unit. I ask that you give the droid to my father, so he can look at the plans. This is our most desperate hour. Help me Iroh Kenobi. You're my only hope."

"You must learn the ways of the Force if you are to come with me to Alderaan." Iroh said as he turned to Zuko.

"Alderaan?" Zuko asked, obviously conflicted. "I can't go to Alderaan, I'm needed at home."

"I need your help Zuko." Iroh said truthfully enough. "She needs your help. I'm getting to old for this."

"It's not like I care for the Empire, I hate it!" Zuko said. Then he sighed. "And Alderaan is so far away."

"That's your uncle talking." Iroh said calmly.

"My uncle." Zuko said running his fingers through his hair. "I'm already in enough trouble as it is. When I tell him I had to give you the droids, and that I've found out about my father, he's goanna hit the roof." He walked to the door and then sighed. "Look, I can take you as far as Anchorhead. You can get a ship from there."

"You must do what you feel is right of course." Iroh said. He knew Zuko was doing what he thought was best. He just wished it was going with him.

On the way to Anchorhead, Zuko saw the sandcrawler that delivered the droids to him and his aunt and uncle R2 and 3PO. Zuko, Iroh, 3PO, and R2 examined the attack.

"It looks like the Sandbenders did this." Zuko said. "Look, there are Gaffi sticks and Bantha tracks. It's just that I never heard of them hitting anything this big before."

"They didn't, but we are meant to think they did." Iroh explained. "These tracks are side by side. Sandbenders walk single file to hide their numbers."

"These are the same jawas that gave us R2 and 3PO." Zuko said as his eyes widened, and his stomach contracted.

"And these blast points are too accurate for Sandbenders." Iroh said as he showed Zuko the ruins of the sandcrawler. "Only Imperial Storm Troopers are so precise."

"If they traced the droids here," Zuko said as his stomach began to contract even more, "then they would have found out who they sold them too, and that would lead them... home."

Zuko ran off to the land speeder.

"Wait, Luke!" Iroh called out "It's too dangerous!" Zuko knew Iroh was right, but he had to see if Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru were okay. They were the only family he had left.

Once Zuko got back to the Homestead; he pulled up to his usual parking spot for the land speeder.

"Uncle Owen! Aunt Beru! Unc..." What he saw made him feel like he had walked into a nightmare. "Oh my god."

All that was left of them were two charred skeletons.

Zuko) arrived back at the camp as 3PO and R2 were preparing a funeral pyre for the jawas.

"There's nothing you could have done Luke, had you been there." Iroh said consolingly. "You'd have been killed too. And the droids would now be in the hands of the Empire." Zuko knew that was true, and that something beyond himself was guiding his actions.

"I want to come with you to Alderaan." Zuko said in a determined voice. "There's nothing left for me here now. I want to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi like my father."


	5. Chapter 4

Zuko and Iroh drove to Mos Eisley. As they drove, R2 fell out of the speeder. When they finally stopped at a cliff, R2 came up to 3PO.

"You couldn't have grabbed me?" R2 asked irritably.

"How?" 3PO protested. "I can't reach above my head, and my elbows barely move!" R2 had to grudgingly admit that was true.

"Mos Eisley Spaceport." Iroh said starring down at the space station. "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We'd best stay close."

They drove into the town and were stopped by three Sand Troopers.

"How long have you these droids." The commander asked.

"About three seasons." Zuko replied after some quick thinking.

"They're up for sale if you want them." Iroh continued, helping the lie.

"I'm going to need to see your identification." The commander insisted.

"You don't need to see his identification." Iroh said, waving his hand.

"We don't need to see his identification." The commander said, shocking Zuko.

"These aren't the droids you're looking for." Iroh continued.

"These aren't the droids we're looking for." The commander agreed.

"He can go about his business." Iroh said.

"You can go about your business." The commander said.

"Move along." Iroh finished.

"Move along." The commander ordered Zuko. "Move along."

They went to a nearby cantina and got out of the speeder.

"That was close; I thought we were done for." Zuko said. It was a miracle they weren't smoking skeletons. "What happened anyway?"

"The Force can have a strong influence on the weak minded." Iroh said winking.

They went into the cantina.

"Hey!" The bartender said. "We don't accept their kind here."

"Who?" Zuko asked. He was surprised there was a "kind" that this cantina refused. There were creatures of every sort here.  
"Your droids." The bartender informed Zuko.

"Look guys," Zuko said calmly, "we don't want to cause any trouble, so maybe you should wait outside."

"You got it Luke." 3PO said gladly.

"Discrimination!" R2 muttered angrily. "That's what that bartender's guilty of."

They walked out. Zuko and Iroh approached the bar. A walrus headed creature growled at Zuko. A few seconds later, a horribly disfigured man taps his shoulder.

"He doesn't like you." The disfigured man said.

"Sorry." Zuko said coolly.

"I don't like you either." The man continued.

"Okay." Zuko said in a confused voice. He didn't like the way this conversation was going.

"You'd better watch yourself." The man insisted. "I have the death sentence on twelve systems."

"I'll be careful." Zuko said. He wasn't exactly sure what to do.

"You'll be dead!" The man insisted.

"This boy's not worth the trouble." Iroh said, obviously trying to calm the man down.

The walrus headed alien grabbed a blaster as Iroh grabbed his Lightsaber and cut off the walrus head's arm. He then deactivated the Lightsaber and conversed with a furry creature that was at least 7 feet high, with four arms, and a long flat tail. The creature had white fur with a brown arrow design on its back.

"Chewappa here is first mate on a freighter that might suit us." Iroh said pointing at the creature. Zuko grinned at the chance at finally getting off this dust ball.

Inside the Death Star, Darth Ozai walked to Princess Katara's cell with a mind probe.

"And now You're Highness, let us discuss the location of your secret rebel base." Ozai said smugly as the door closed behind them.

Zuko) and Iroh were sitting across from Chewappa and a young man in a white shirt and black vest. He looked a few years younger than Zuko, but he definitely had more experience. He also had blue arrow markings matching Chewappa's markings.

"Aang Solo." The man said. "I'm captain of the _Millennium Falcon_."

"Is it a fast ship?" Iroh asked.

"You've never heard of the _Millennium Falcon_?" Aang asked in a surprised voice.

"Should I have?" Iroh said as he grinned slightly.

"It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs." Aang said, obviously trying to stir something up in his head.

"Sorry. It's not ringing any bells." Iroh confessed.

"Oh well." Aang said disappointedly, he obviously liked bragging. "So, what do you two want?"

"Safe passage to Alderaan for the boy, myself, and two droids." Iroh said, then he added, in an undertone, "And no questions asked."

"Oh. Let's see." Aang said. "Passage to Alderaan. Kept a secret. That'd be, 15,000. All upfront."

"15,000?!" Zuko said barely able to keep his voice down. "We could almost buy our own ship for that!"

"But who's going to fly it buddy? You?" Aang said arrogantly.

"You bet I could!" Zuko said beginning to raise his voice. "I'm a pretty good pilot myself!"

"Zuko." Iroh said sternly. Zuko sat down, embarrassed that Iroh had to reprimand him already. Iroh then turned to Aang. "We can pay you 2,000 know. Plus another 15,000 when the job's done."

"17,000?" Aang said intrigued. "You've got yourself a deal. Be at my ship in half an hour."

"A pleasure doing business with you." Iroh said grinning.

As the old man and farm boy left, Aang couldn't help but grin like a stupid idiot.

"17,000!" Aang said to Appa in an excited whisper. "This could really save my neck!"

Appa growled in response. Aang grinned, he was excited that he was finally about to be able to pay off Xin Fu. Otherwise, he'd be in big trouble. All his life he'd been running. First, he ran from that crazy circus he grew up in, as a pick-pocket. Then he ran away from the Imperial Academy when he saved Appa from an Imp Executioner, which caused Appa to swear a life-debt to him. Now he was running from Xin Fu the Hutt because of the Kessel incident.

All of a sudden, as Aang was thinking. Longshot appeared. He was as green and bug eyed as ever.

"Going somewhere Solo?" Longshot asked smirking.

"Yes, Greedo." Aang said calmly. "I was just about to tell Xin Fu that I'll be able to pay him back."

"Then why don't you give it to me now?" Longshot asked smirking.

"I don't have it with me." Aang said as he griped his blaster pistol under the table. "It'll take a few days."

"Xin Fu doesn't have patience for smugglers who ditch their cargo at the first sight of Imperial cruisers." Longshot said tauntingly.

"Even I get boarded sometimes." Aang said beginning to get angry.

Both Aang and Greedo put their fingers on the triggers of their respective blasters.

"You won't weasel your way out of this one Solo." Longshot said grinning. "I've been waiting a long time for this."

"I'll bet you have." Aang said coolly.

Both of them fired their shots at the same time. Aang moved his head so that Longshot's blast just missed his ear. Han's shot went right into Longshot's chest. He walked away and tossed a coin onto the bar.

"Sorry about the mess." Aang said as he and Appa walked out.

In the council room of the Death Star. Darth Ozai and Zhao were talking privately

"Her resistance to the mind probe is considerable." Ozai said, slightly impressed by the princess' mental strength. "It'll be some time before we can extract any information from her."

"Maybe we should try another approach." Zhao said.

"What do you mean?" Ozai asked.

"I think it's time to test the power of this station." Zhao said with a grin that made it quite plan to Ozai that Zhao was insane.

At the landing bay that held the _Millennium Falcon,_ Xin Fu was yelling at the ship. His reptilian body, and muscular arms were imposing to most, but Aang was well aware of the Hutt's lazy attitude.

"Come on out here Solo!" Xin Fu called out. "Solo!!"

"I'm here Jabba." Aang said, smirking at the startled look he caused Xin Fu to have. "You didn't think I'd leave would you?"

"Han, old buddy." Xin Fu said smiling; it made Aang want to puke. "Why'd you fry Longshot?"

"Look Jabba," Aang said testily, "next time you want to talk to me, come yourself. Don't send one of these clowns."

"Han, my boy." Xin Fu said putting his arm around Aang. "What would happen to my rep if I gave special treatment to every smuggler who dropped their cargo at the first sight of Imperial cruisers?"

"Even I get boarded sometimes Jabba!" Aang said as he walked around Xin Fu), and stepped on his tail, which causes Xin Fu to gulp in pain. Do you think I had a choice?!" Remembering who he was talking to, he calmed himself down. "Look, give me five day, and I'll have your money back, plus interest."

"Well, for an extra 20%-" Xin Fu began.

"Fifteen Jabba." Aang said. "Don't push it."

"Alright, 15%." Xin Fu consented. "But if you don't give me the money, I'll put a price on your head so big, you won't be able to set foot in a civilized system."

As Xin Fu "walked" away, Aang took a look at one of the bounty hunters Xin Fu had brought with him. His blood ran cold as he saw the red and green Mandalorian armor, and tiger hook swords. Jet Fett. He definitely had to hurry up.

Zuko, 3PO, R2, and Iroh were walking to the docking bay after Zuko sold his speeder to get the needed money for the trip. They arrived at the port where the _Falcon_ was stationed.

"So what do you think?" Aang said grinning.

"What a piece of junk!" Zuko exclaimed as he looked at the relic of a starship. It had to pre-date the Clone Wars by several decades.

"Hey," Aang said angrily, "she doesn't look like much, but she's got it where it counts. Now unless you want a tour, please board."

All of a sudden, a squad of Sand Troopers arrived.

"Stop that ship!" One trooper demanded.

"Blast them!" Another trooper cried out.

"Well, that definitely cancels the tour!" Aang joked. "Quick, get in the ship!"

The five of them got onto the ship, with Aang going last as he blasted several troops.

As they left Tatooine's atmosphere, an Imperial Star Destroyer chased after them.

"They're gaining on us!" Zuko said.

"We'll be safe enough once we make the jump to Hyperspace." Aang said calmer than he felt. "Besides, I know a few maneuvers. We'll lose them!"

Then he realized that the ship had to warm up before he could do any decent maneuvers. Knowing he wasn't able to do anything fancy for a few minutes, he simply listed to the left.

"That's it?" Zuko asked. "That was your maneuver? Moving slightly to the left?"

"Well, we're not where we were." Said Aang, hoping he could make them think he'd done it as some brilliant maneuver. "That should confuse them."

"But you hardly did anything." Zuko continued. "You just started listing lazily to the left. I'm pretty sure they can keep up."

On the bridge of the Star Destroyer. The leading Imperials were shocked by the sudden disappearance of the freighter.

"Where'd they go?!" The commander said bedazzled.

"There they are!" The captain said pointing just left of their position. "They're listing lazily to the left! Go left! Go left!!"

"Man, this guy knows some maneuvers." The commander responded.

In the cockpit of the _Falcon_, Aang was relieved that the Imps were as dumb as he remembered.

"They're still coming!" Zuko said angrily. "Can't you get this bucket of bolts moving?!"

"Jumping into hyperspace isn't like dusting crops pal!" Aang said, finally losing his patience. "Without precise calculation we could end up going through a star or bounce to close to a super nova, and that'd end your trip real quickly!"

After a few more moments Aang was able to make the jump.

A few moments after the ship jumped into hyperspace, Iroh was in a recreation area where he was training Zuko in Lightsaber combat with a remote. Aang walked in.

"Well, you can forget about those Imperials." Aang said smugly. "I told you we'd lose them." After no one responded, he added sarcastically, "Don't everyone thank me at once." Iroh didn't mean to be rude, but he had to focus on Zuko's training.

"Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him." Iroh said as Zuko held his Lightsaber in a defensive position.

"You mean it controls your actions?" Zuko asked.

"Partially." Iroh admitted. "But it also response to commands."

After a few moments, Zuko was able to block the blasts. Like his father, he had great potential, and his time on Tatooine, always looking to the stars, gave him a perfectly open mind.

"Good." Iroh said.

"Ancient weapons and hockey religions are no match for a good blaster at your side." Aang said as if that settled everything in the universe.

"You don't believe in the Force do you?" Zuko asked after deactivating his Lightsaber.

"What that thing you learned about two hours ago?" Aang asked defiantly. "No. I've seen a lot of strange things in this galaxy. But nothing to make me believe that there's some all powerful force out there controlling my destiny."

Grinning at how Aang's skeptic attitude may very well fall away before all was over, he picked up a helmet on the nearby holo-chess table.

"Alright," Iroh said, "this time let go of your conscious self, and act on instinct."

With that, Iroh put the helmet on Zuko so that it covered his eyes.

"But with the blast shield down, I can't see anything." Zuko said

"Your eyes can deceive you." Iroh advised. "Don't trust them."

Zuko tried to deflect one the remote's blasts but missed the blow.

"Stretch out with your feelings." Iroh said, feeling slightly irritated.

Zuko then deflected three blasts in quick succession. Proving just how much of his father he'd inherited.

"You see?" Iroh said, grinning. "You can do it."

"I call it luck." Aang said in an agitated voice.

"In my experience, there's no such thing as luck." Iroh said.

"I'm going to get something to drink." Aang said. Iroh could sense that Aang was partially interested in these things, therefore, he tried to avoid them.

As Aang walked away, Zuko walked up to Iroh. He had removed his helmet.)

"You know, I did feel something." Zuko said, almost serenely. "It was almost as if I could see the remote."

"That's good." Iroh explained. "You've taken your first step into a larger world. Let's get some drinks too. I hope Han has some ginseng tea. It's my favorite."

Katara was brought into the Death Star's control room by Ozai.

"Governor Zhao." Katara said coolly. "I should have known you'd be holding Ozai's leash. I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board."

"Charming to the last." Zhao said calmly as he gently held her chin. "You have no idea how hard it was for me to sign your execution order."

"I'm surprised you had the courage to do it yourself." Katara responded as she wrenched her head away from Zhao's hand.

"You know, your refusal to tell us the location of the Rebel's base has chosen the testing sight of this battle station." Zhao said, smiling in a way that Katara didn't like. "I've decided to test it on your home planet of Alderaan."

"No!" Katara said in shock and outrage. "Alderaan is peaceful! We have nothing to defend ourselves with!"

"You'd prefer a military target?!" Zhao asked, a mad glint of triumph in his eyes.

"Dantooine..." Katara said as she dropped her head in shame. "They're on Dantooine."

"There." Zhao said calmly. "You see what happens with a little persuasion Lord Ozai? Prepare the fire."

"What?!!" Katara said, outraged. Did honor mean nothing to these people?!

"You're far too trusting." Zhao said, smiling again. "Dantooine is too remote to make an impression on the citizens, but don't worry we'll deal with your rebel friends soon enough. Fire at will men!"

Katara went to stop him, but Ozai grabbed her shoulder firmly.)

"No." Katara whimpered.

The people in the firing room activated the Death Star's super laser. The laser was launched, and Alderaan was destroyed. Katara couldn't believe it, everyone she held dear was on that planet, her father, many of her friends, and now it was all gone. While part of her knew that Viceroy Hakoda Organa had only been her step-father, she'd never even bothered to learn about her biological one, he was the only father she ever knew, and now he was gone forever.

"And you call yourselves human beings?" Katara asked as her voice broke, and tears fell down her face.


	6. Chapter 5

In the rec room of the _Falcon_, Appa was playing holo-chess against R2. R2 captured one of Appa's pieces. Appa growled angrily.

"She made a fair move." 3PO said, as he was acting as referee. "Screaming about it won't help."

"If you ask me," Aang said smirking, "I think you should let Appa win."

"Why?" 3PO asked. "Nobody worries about upsetting a droid."

"That's because droids aren't known to rip people's arms out of their sockets." Aang said, hardly containing his grin. "Wookiees are known to do that."

"R2 let the Wookiee win." 3PO said nervously.

"No way! I'm only one move away from winning." R2 said excitedly.

After R2 won, Appa tore her arms cleanly out of her sockets.)

"I told you." 3PO said pompously.

"Shut up and help me put my arms back." Toph grumbled.

Suddenly, a warning alarm sounded.

"Looks like we're approaching Alderaan." Aang said moving to the cockpit.

Zuko and Iroh went with Aang to the cockpit. Aang's eyes widened with shock.

"Something's wrong," Aang said, hardly able to keep fear out of his voice, "we're in the middle of an asteroid field!"

"Then why'd the navicomputer say we were approaching Alderaan?" Zuko asked, his nerves becoming weaker and weaker by the second.

"Because we were." Aang said, nervously.

"What?" Zuko asked. If Aang was getting at what Zuko thought he was getting at, nowhere in the galaxy was safe.

"The entire planet's been blown away." Aang said fearfully. "It would take more fire power than anything the Empire could use."

A TIE Fighter suddenly flew past them.

"Where'd that fighter come from?" Aang asked surprised. "The nearest Imperial outpost's miles away."

"It looks like it's taking refuge on that small moon." Zuko said, pointing at a small moon that was on the other side of Alderaan's remains.

"Well, we better jam their transmissions before they can report us." Aang said tinkering with several switches on his left hand side.

"Let him go." Iroh advised. "It's too far away."

"Not if we can get to that moon before that fighter leaves." Aang said smirking.

They came close enough to the moon for Zuko to notice there was something wrong. The moon only had one crater, and it wasn't deep enough to be made with a meteor.

"That's no moon." Iroh said. "It's a space station." Zuko knew in his heart that Iroh was right. Was this what destroyed Alderaan?

"It's too big to be a space station." Aang said, though his half terrified voice gave away the fact that he knew Iroh was right too. All of a sudden, the station began to come closer. "Come on Appa!" Aang continued, almost shouting in fear. "Let's get out of here!" The station was still coming closer. "Appa!! Get us out of here!!" Aang shouted again.

"What's wrong now?" Zuko asked, this time he wasn't blaming the Falcon.

"We're caught in a tractor beam," Aang said, trying to regain his composure, "but they're not taking me in without a fight."

"You can't win," Iroh said as if he was in this kind of situation every day, which, Zuko reminded himself, he probably had been during the Clone Wars, "but there are alternatives to fighting."

In the Death Star's council room, an Imperial agent walked in.

"Sir," the agent said, "the scouts went to Dantooine, but all they found was what appeared to be the ruins of a Rebel Base."

"She lied!" Zhao said furiously. "She lied to us!!"

"I told you she would never consciously betray the Rebellion." Ozai said smirking. He wasn't even sure what the scouts saw was a rebel base. From what he remembered from history, there used to be a Jedi Base there during the time of the Second Sith War.

"Terminate her." Zhao ordered. "Immediately!"

Just then, Zhao's com-link beeped.

"Sir," reported the Imperial agent on the other side, "a freighter that matched the description of a freighter that flew out of Mos Eisley was captured by our tractor beam a few moments ago."

"They must be planning to return the plans to the princess." Ozai said calmly. "She may yet be of use to us."

As the _Falcon_ landed on the Death Star, Darth Ozai walked into the hanger after a group of Imperials checked it.

"The ship's empty sir." The leader said. "According to the log, the crew abandoned the ship shortly after takeoff."

"Did you find any droids?" Ozai asked.

"No sir." The Imperial responded. "They must have jettisoned with the crew."

"Bring a scanner." Ozai ordered. "I want you to check every inch of this ship." He then became suddenly thoughtful. "I sense something. A presence I've not felt since..."

He walked away, rubbing the area just belong what was left of his left elbow.

The scanner was brought up with two Imperial agents. Suddenly, two of the Storm Troopers who were protecting the ship heard shouts and groans.

"Hey, could you give us a hand up here?" The voice of a 19 year old man called.

The two Storm Troopers walked up. The next thing they knew, they were attacked by a Wookiee and two young men, in the hands of the older man was a sword of blue light.

In the control room, Aang and Zuko walked in with Appa. Aang quickly shot the officer in there as Appa roared. Zuko off his face mask and his helmet to be able to see better.

_How do Imperials see through these things? _He wondered.

"You know, between his howling and your blasting everything in sight, it's a wonder the whole station doesn't know we're here." He told Aang recklessly, and Uncle Owen thought _Zuko _wasreckless.

"Bring them on." Aang said calmly. "I'd prefer a straight on challenge."

Iroh walked in with 3PO and R2. R2 hacked into the computer system.

"Okay, the tractor beam's controlled by a generator in the middle of the station's fourth floor."

"I'll take care of it." Iroh said.

"We'll go with you." Zuko said reaching for the helmet.

"No." Iroh said definitively. "You'll stay here."

"But-" Zuko began. He couldn't lose his mentor so soon after losing his aunt and uncle.

"Your destiny lies on a different path than mine." Iroh said patting Zuko on the shoulder.

Iroh left to shut off the tractor beam while R2 was still scanning the computer.

"I did it!" R2 screamed out excitedly. "I found her! She's here! She's here!"

"Who?" Zuko asked.

"Princess Katara!" R2 yelled out waving her hands triumphantly.

"The princess?!" Zuko said excitedly.

"Wait." Aang said. "What princess?"

"She's the one who owned the droids." Zuko explained. "Where is she?"

"Okay." R2 said, calming down enough to hack back into the computer. "She's on the detention level, and she's…" Then her face fell as she saw the next bit of information, "going to be executed."

"C'mon Aang," Zuko pleaded, "we've gotta save her."

"No way." Aang said. "Besides the old guy told us to wait here."

"But they're going to kill her." Zuko exclaimed. "Look, a few minutes ago, you said you didn't want to just wait here."

"Marching into the detention area wasn't exactly what I had in mind." Aang said folding his arms.

"She's rich." Zuko said in a burst of inspiration. It worked since Aang began to look up interested. "She's a princess and a leader of the rebellion. If you were to rescue her the reward would be..."

"What?" Aang said as his interest peaked.

"Well more wealth than you can imagine." Zuko said.

"I don't know." Aang said. "I can imagine quite a bit."

"You'll get it." Zuko assured him.

"I better." Aang said.

"You will." Zuko finished.

"Alright, how are we gonna do this?" Aang asked, the idea of money obviously gave him a lot of energy.

"3PO, hand me those binders." Zuko said pointing to a pair of energy binders on a table.. 3PO gave them to Zuko He walked up to Appa. "Appa hold out your hands." He was about to put the binders on when Appa growled angrily. "Okay, Aang you do it." Zuko wasn't risking having his arms ripped out.

Aang took the binders grinning.

"Don't worry Appa. I think I know what he's planning."

At the generator for the tractor beam, Iroh managed to shut it down and hid behind it as two Storm Troopers appeared.

"So, what do you thinks' going on?" One of the troopers asked.

"Probably just another drill." His friend responded. "So, did you see that new TIE Fighter of Lord Ozai's?"

"Yeah, it's pretty nice." The first trooper answered casually. Iroh didn't have time for this. He used the Force to make the troops believe they heard a noise in the opposite direction of where he wanted to go. "What was that?"

"We'd better check it out." The second trooper said.

As they left, Iroh went in the opposite direction.

Zuko and Aang walked into the elevator with Appa's hands in binders. A few seconds later they came out in the detention area.

"We've got a prisoner for Cell Block B." Zuko said, trying to sound official.

"Alright, let me just call it in." The warden said.

Zuko used what little Force power he had control of to release Appa's binders, and he distracted the warden, so Aang could blast him while he was distracted by Appa.

Aang took off his helmet.

"Let's find out what cell this princess of yours is in." Aang said looking at the computer. Thank goodness he had spent sometime in the Academy. "Here it is, cell number 2211. You go, I'll try to keep them on the upper floors." As Zuko left, Aang tried to talk the Imperials out of coming down. "Um, everything's okay down here. Situation normal."

"What happened down there?" The Imp at the other end asked.

"Well, we had a slight weapons malfunction, but everything's fine now." Aang said, doing his best to keep calm.

"What's your number?" The Imp asked.

Knowing he was trapped, Aang blasted the speaker.

"It was a boring conversation anyway. Zuko, we're gonna have company!"

As Katara was lying down on the sleep couch, a slightly shorter than normal Storm Trooper came in.

"Aren't you a little short to be a Storm Trooper?" Katara asked.

"Huh?" The trooper asked. "Oh, the uniform." He took his helmet off to reveal his face, he had jet black hair, gold eyes, and a scar over his left eye that covered almost that entire side of his face. "I'm Zuko Skywalker. I'm here to rescue you."

"What?" She had heard her father talk about a Skywalker in several of his stories about Iroh Kenobi, but he was far too young to have fought in the Clone Wars.

"I've got your droids." Zuko explained "I'm here with Lu Ten Kenobi."

"Who?" She suddenly got the idea that Iroh had sent a son or something with Zuko to free her, but she never heard any story of Iroh having a son, or a relation of any kind.

"Iroh Kenobi." Zuko corrected himself. "Sorry, I know him better as Lu Ten."

"Well, where is he?" Katara said excitedly. Now she understood, Zuko was Iroh's apprentice.

"He's deactivating a tractor beam that's keeping us from lifting off." Zuko told her.

Outside the detention area, Aang and Appa were blasting at the Storm Troopers when Zuko and the princess arrived.

"Our way out's been obscured." Aang said jokingly.

"This is some rescue." The princess said. She grabbed Zuko's blaster, and fired at several Troopers, hitting them all, and then shot open a vent. "Follow me." She called out and jumped in.

"Great girl." Aang said sarcastically. "Either I'm going to kill her, or I'm falling in love with her." After a few minutes, Zuko jumped in. "Now you Appa." Appa growled in protest. "Get in there you big bison!" Aang yelled. "I don't care what you smell!"

Shortly after Appa dived in, Aang followed. They ended up in a garbage masher.

"Oh, great idea princess." Aang said sarcastically. "Jumping into a pile of garbage. What an incredible smell you've discovered."

All of a sudden, everyone heard a creaking noise.

"What was that?" Zuko said. Aang, personally, didn't want to find out.

The creaking noise became louder, and Aang became uncomfortably aware that they were about to find out what that noise was, whether they wanted to or not.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Aang said.

The garbage masher activated. The walls began moving, and they were right in the middle of it!

"Appa, keep the princess on top!" Aang called out. He'd been in a few tight places before, though none this tight. "Zuko, call those buckets of bolts you brought with you!"

Zuko grabbed his com-link as Appa held tried to hold the princess above the garbage mashers.

"3PO!" Zuko called out, quickly losing his cool. "3PO! R2! Do you read me?!"

"What's wrong Zuko?" 3PO called back.

"There's no time to explain, just shut down all the garbage mashers on the detention level!!" Zuko called out as the walls began to become uncomfortably close for Aang's comfort.

"Hurry R2!" They heard 3PO call out as they struggled to keep the walls from turning them into human pancakes. "I think they're in trouble!"

"Okay," R2 said nervously, "where is the control for that garbage masher?"

"Guys hurry!" Zuko screamed out.

"Almost, and there." R2 said about a minute before the three of them became wall decorations.

After the garbage masher was turned off, Zuko, the princess, Aang, and Appa were screaming with laughter.

"Listen to them R2!" They heard 3PO crying out through Zuko's com-link. "They're dying! Curse our metal bodies! We weren't fast enough!"

"You did it guys!" Zuko called into the com-link still laughing. "We're safe. Hey could you open the door for, where are we? 3362297?"

"No prob, Bob." R2 responded.

After everyone got out of the detention level, Aang and Zuko took off their armor revealing their ordinary outfits.

"Okay." Zuko said, securing his Lightsaber back onto his belt. "Now what?"

"Now," Aang said confidently, "we go to the _Falcon_, beat up the Storm Troopers and fly on out of here."

"I don't know who you are where you come from, but that's the stupidest plan I've ever heard." Katara said. Aang definitely was a novice for these kinds of things. "We have to be careful."

They begin to walk towards the _Falcon_ in a less direct route than Aang would have preferred.

"Look, Princess." Aang said angrily. "I only take orders from one person. Me."

"It's a wonder you're still alive." Katara said before nearly running into Appa. "Will someone get this moving carpet out of my way?"

"No reward is worth this." Aang said to himself.

In the council room of the Death Star, Ozai informed Zhao of his suspicions.

"Iroh Kenobi?" Zhao asked incredulously. "Here? What makes you so certain?"

"A tremor in the Force." Ozai responded calmly. "The last time I felt it was in the presence of my old master."

"He has to be dead by now." Zhao said with certainty.

"Don't underestimate the power of the Force." Ozai advised.

"The Jedi Order is extinct." Zhao said, confidently. "Their fire is gone from the universe. You, my friend, are all that's left of their religion."

"Sir," an Imperial on Zhao's com-link said. "something's gone wrong with the tractor beam's power generator, and the princess has escaped."

"Iroh is here." Ozai said with certainty. "The Force is with him."

"Then he must not be allowed to escape." Zhao said, and Ozai was pleased with the small trace of nervousness he sensed from Zhao.

"Escape is not his plan." Ozai said knowingly. "I must face him alone."

At the docking bay, Iroh was within sight of the _Falcon_ when Ozai appeared. Both activated their Lightsabers.

"I've been waiting for you Iroh." Ozai said as if it was still the Clone Wars. "We meet again at last." They exchanged a few quick blows. "The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner. Now I am the master."

"Only a master of evil Darth." Iroh said, using Ozai's title as his first name to catch him off guard. They exchanged a few more blows. "You can't win Darth. Should my saber find its mark, you shall cease to exist, and I warn you. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful then you can possibly imagine."

They exchange a few more blows.

"Your powers are weak, Old Man." Ozai mocked. Iroh could practically feel the grin beneath that black mask.

Zuko, Katara, Aang, Appa, 3PO, and R2 arrived at the _Falcon_. As Aang and Katara got on the ramp Zuko notices the duel between Ozai and Iroh. He couldn't help but wonder at the coincidence that his father's killer had the same name as his father. Then he quickly realized that Iroh was at least 57, and he was fighting someone who was probably far more powerful.

"Lu Ten?"

As the two combatants continued to fight, Iroh glanced back at Zuko and grinned. He then held his Lightsaber up in surrender. Ozai swung his Lightsaber at Iroh, but just before it makes impact, the cloak became empty.

"No!" Zuko called out. He couldn't be gone. Anger boiled up in him. Now he had another reason to bring Darth Ozai down. He had killed his father, and now his mentor.

Several Storm Troopers, who had been looking at the fight, turned and fired at Zuko. Zuko fired back.

Ozai probed Iroh's robes with his foot. What was going on? He just disappeared. Iroh's life signature had vanished, so he was definitely dead, but the fact that there wasn't a corpse disturbed him greatly.

"Zuko, it's too late!!" Katara yelled as Zuko continued to fire.

"C'mon Zuko!!" Aang called out.

Zuko continued to fire at the troops until…

_Run Zuko. Run._ It was Iroh's voice. Was he hearing things? He didn't know, but he decided to follow the advice.

Zuko ran to the _Falcon_. Minutes before it took off.

Zuko was slouching down onto the holo-chess table. Katara tried to comfort him.

"I can't believe he's gone." Zuko said sadly.

"He died defending us." Katara said, trying to console Zuko. "From what I've heard about him, it's how he would have wanted to go."

Aang came in looking hurried but, surprisingly, sympathetic.

"C'mon buddy, we're not out of the woods yet." Aang said.

Zuko and Aang got into the laser torrents of the _Falcon_ as several TIE Fighters arrived. They fired, but the TIE fighters' maneuverability was definitely a problem.

"They're coming in too fast!" Zuko called out. Eventually Zuko shot down one of the fighters. "I got him!" Zuko cried out.

"Great pal." Aang said grinning. "Just don't get cocky."

After several intensive minutes watching the fight in the cockpit with Chewappa, Katara saw the boys destroy all the TIE Fighters.

"That's it!" Katara heard Zuko call out over his headpiece. "We did it!"

Katara was so glad and relieved she hugged Chewappa.

"They did it!" She shouted out happily.

In the Death Star's Control Room, Zhao watched the ship leave anxiously.

"You're sure that homing beacon is in place?" He asked Lord Ozai.

"Absolutely." Ozai replied.

"I'm taking an awful risk Ozai." Zhao said. "This had better work."


	7. Chapter 6

In the cockpit of the _Falcon_, Aang was sitting in the pilot's seat while Katara was sitting right next to him.

"So, what did you think of my little maneuvers?" Aang asked smirking at his skill display during the dogfight.

"Aang, they let us go." Katara said as if that was obvious. "It's the only explanation. I just hope we can get R2 to the base before it's too late."

"What's the little droid carrying that's so darn important?" Aang said angrily. It was about time _somebody _explained what was going on!

"The data plans for the Death Star." Katara explained. "I just hope when we get the plans downloaded, a weakness can be found."

"Well it's no skin off my nose if there is, or isn't." Aang said. Then, for some reason he began talking as if Katara wanted to recruit him for the alliance. "Once we land at the base, my job's done. Let's get one thing straight, I'm not in this for your little rebellion, Princess, and I'm not in it for you! I expect to be well paid! I'm in it for the money!"

"Well," Katara said, coolly, "you have nothing to worry about. If money is all you care about, then money is what you'll get." As Zuko came in Katara walked out. "Your friend is quite a mercenary." Katara said to Zuko. "I wonder if he cares about anything, or anyone."

"I care." Zuko said silently as Katara left. He sat down where Katara was. "So what do you think of her Aang?" Zuko asked, he obviously had a crush on Katara.

"I'm trying not to Zuko." Aang answered.

"Good." Zuko replied. Just what Aang needed, getting stuck in a love triangle with the student of an old geezer, and the princess of a destroyed planet.

"Still," Aang said, more to himself than Zuko. "I've got to admit that she's got spunk. I don't know. Do you think a princess and a guy like me..."

"No." Zuko said quickly, he was probably right.

The gang arrived at the rebel base on the Yavin IV moon. After taking a quick look around, Zuko attended a meeting to destroy the Death Star.

"According to the plans given to us by Princess Katara," A middle-aged man named General Fong explained. "There's an exhaust port that's only two meters wide. Thanks to several trenches, a small one man fighter should be able to fire a proton torpedo into the hole, this will cause a chain reaction that will destroy the Death Star."

"That's impossible, even for a computer." One of the pilots, a young man named Teo, said.

"It's not impossible," Zuko explained. "I used to bulls eye womprats in my T-16 back home. They're not much bigger than two meters."

"You shot small animals for fun?!" 3PO said in a shocked voice. "You know that's the first sign of a serial killer you freak."

"I lived on a planet with two suns and no women." Zuko said losing his temper, what 3PO had said reminded him of a day 4 years ago when he got his scar. "What the heck was I supposed to do?!"

On the platform, Zuko, who had changed into a fighter outfit, walked to Aang and Appa as they were loading their reward money onto the _Falcon._

"So, you're leaving?" Zuko said slightly disappointed.

"Well, yeah." Aang said, even he was repulsed by himself this. "Why don't you come with us?! We could use a guy like you."

"Aang, I'm needed here." Zuko said, sounding like the old man.

"Alright." Aang said, then he finally thought of what the old man had said about there being no such thing as luck, and turned to Zuko. "Hey Zuko. May the Force be with you."

"And also with you." Zuko said smiling.

As Aang and Appa boarded the ship, Katara walked to Luke Zuko.

"Hey," Katara asked. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Zuko said, not really knowing if it was true. "I just thought that Aang would stay."

"He's got to follow his own path." Katara said calmly, reminding him of Iroh.

"I only wish, Lu Ten was here." Zuko said sadly. He needed Iroh's guidance, he wasn't ready for this.

"Don't worry." Katara said smiling. She then kissed Zuko on the cheek. "For luck." Zuko absentmindedly put his hand on his cheek.

As Zuko walked around in the hangar bay, a man walks up, it was Biggs! He looked the same as ever, now that he thought about it, he looked like a younger Iroh. He had the same eye color and facial structure. Maybe they were distantly related.

"Luke?" Biggs asked.

"Biggs!" Zuko said excitedly. "It's great to see you again!"

"So," Biggs asked. "You here for the Death Star run?"

"Oh man, you know it." Zuko said, suddenly he felt he could take on Ozai all by himself.

"Are you sure you can handle this, Kid?" General Fong asked.

"Sir," Biggs said grinning. "You're looking at the best pilot in the Outer Rim Territories." Zuko smiled. _I just hope I inherited Dad's skill. _He thought.

Zuko walked to his X-Wing as R2 was lowered into the astro droid unit.

"Are you sure you don't want another droid?" The rebel engineer asked. "This one's pretty beat up."

"Not on your life." Zuko said chuckling. "That little droid and I have been through a lot together."

"Yeah." R2 said bragging.

"R2," Zuko said. "He didn't deserve that."

"Sorry." R2 responded.

As the X-Wings flew at the Death Star, Zuko listened to the pilots signing in.

"All wings report in." Said Red Leader.

"Red 3: Standing by." That was Teo.

"Red 4: Standing by." That was Biggs.

"Red 5: Standing by." Zuko said.

After everyone went in, the Y-Wings went on the run. They made an impact on the surface with one of the missiles, but completely missed the hole.

Inside the Death Star, Darth Ozai walked to the TIE pilots.

"Prepare my fighter," Ozai ordered, "and give me two of your best to cover me."

"Yes sir!" The pilot responded.

Outside the Death Star, Ozai's TIE Advanced destroyed all the fighters except Zuko, Biggs, and Teo.

"This is Red 5." Zuko said, deciding he had to do something. "I'm going in. Cover me guys."

"Luke," Biggs asked. "Are you sure you'll be able to pull out in time after you fire the torpedo?"

"It'll be just like Beggar's Canyon back home." Zuko said smiling.

As Zuko's team went on the run, Ozai's team tailed them.

"I can't shake 'em!" Biggs said nervously.

Ozai launched a blast from his fighter and destroyed Biggs' X-Wing, and Biggs.

"Biggs!!" Zuko called out.

"Calm down, Zuko." Katara said. "Concentrate on the mission."

Ozai shot again and damaged Teo's fighter.

"I'm hit!" Teo cried out.

"Get out of here Teo!" Zuko ordered. "You can't do any more good back there."

"I'm sorry." Teo responded as he pulled out.

As one of the two remaining X-Wings took off, the other two TIE Fighters tried to follow.

"Let him go." Ozai ordered. "Stay on the leader." The pilots obeyed and continued to cover him.

Ozai fired again and hit the head of the leading fighter's astro droid.

"Ow!!" Zuko heard R2 yell through the X-Wing. "Screw you, ya jerk!!" R2 yelled at the fighter. "What am I, Superman's chest?!" As her face grew quieter, Zuko realized R2 was shutting down. "I'm going to kick your butt from here to Middle-Earth... Nerf. . . herder."

"I've lost R2." Zuko responded sadly. He was alone.

"Why?!!!!!!!!!" Zuko heard 3PO respond.

As the leading fighter continued the run, he continued to avoid Ozai's blasts.

"The Force is strong with this one." Ozai said to himself. Could he be… No, Skywalker's child died with the mother.

As Zuko approached the exhaust port, he turned on his targeting computer.

_Use the Force, Zuko._ Iroh's voice again, just like on the Death Star. Zuko got closer to the exhaust port. _Let go, Luke._ Zuko was a few feet away from the target this time. _Zuko, trust me._

Zuko turned off his targeting computer. He would be like his father and Iroh. He would trust in the Force.

"Zuko, you turned off your targeting computer." Fong informed Zuko. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," Zuko said confidently. "I'm fine."

As the leader prepared to fire, Ozai finally got a lock on him.

"I have you now." Ozai smirked.

Suddenly, a blast destroyed both of Ozai's cover fighters.

"What?!" Ozai exclaimed! What could have possibly done that?

The _Falcon_ flew into the fray!

"Ya-hoo!!" Aang called out as he blasted Ozai's fighter away. "You're all clear Zuko! Now let's blow this thing, so we can go home!"

Zuko used the Force to guide his actions, and he was able to make a perfect shot that went into the exhaust port, and the entire station blew up.

"Great shot Luke!" Aang said excitedly. "That was one in a million!"

_Luke, remember, the Force will be with you, always._ Zuko smiled, he knew that he'd never be alone now. Even if he was going crazy.

The _Falcon_ and Zuko's and Teo's fighters left the battle. They'd won! They had actually won.

Darth Ozai's TIE Advanced was rolling around like a corkscrew while Ozai was tumbling around in it.

"Oh, why didn't I install seat belts?!" Ozai exclaimed as he continued to tumble around. "Oh, I landed on the steering wheel!!" He screamed as the middle of his back connected with the semi-circle device. Eventually he was able to stabilize the fighter. "Oh, that can't have been good for my burn marks." Ozai said as he rubbed his shoulder.

The gang arrived at the base. As Zuko, Aang, Appa, and Teo came out of their ships, everyone congratulated Aang and Zuko. Katara ran up and hugged both of them.

"You did it, Zuko!" Katara exclaimed. "You did it!"

"Hey," Zuko said laughing. "I couldn't have done it without the mercenary over here!"

"Well," Aang said in his usual joking voice. "I couldn't let you get all the reward money."

"Oh," Katara said punching his shoulder. "I knew there was more to you than money."

The celebration was stopped as R2 was lowered from the astro droid unit. She was pretty damaged, oil spilled out of her head.

"Oh, R2!" 3PO cried out. "Zuko, if any of my gears can hasten repairs, I'll gladly donate them!"

"Don't worry." Zuko said calmly. "She'll be fine."

A week after the destruction of the Death Star, a celebration ceremony was held in honor of Aang, Zuko and Appa. Zuko, Aang, and Appa walked down to Katara, who had dressed in regal robes. She then took a quick glance at a polished 3PO and a fully repaired R2. When Zuko, Aang, and Appa arrived, Katara gave each of them a medal for their part in destroying the Death Star, as she gave Zuko his medal, she gave him a warm smile, and as she gave Aang his medal, she gave him a flirtatious look. She pondered over the fact that if R2 had made it uninterrupted to Iroh Kenobi, Zuko probably wouldn't have come, and then where would they be?

Zuko thought about his father. He would spend this time finding out as much as he could about him, and make Darth Ozai pay for taking his father and Iroh away from him.

Aang thought how odd it was that a Corellian smuggler was now a hero in the Rebel Alliance.

R2 was happy to be doing something again, and she was going to kick Darth Ozai's butt for nearly blasted her head off.

The End.


End file.
